New York Yankees' GM Calls Season 'Disaster'
Entering the game on Wednesday night, the New York Yankees are facing something that hasn't happened to their franchise history in 100 years.
Their current nine game losing streak is the first time that's happened since 1982. If they fail to beat the Washington Nationals at home, they'll have lost 10 games in a row for the first time since 1913.
It's a truly unprecedented form of play for the winningest franchise in MLB history. Sitting five games below .500 entering Wednesday, they are facing their first losing season since 1992.
General manager Brian Cashman spoke with reporters about the season and did not mince words about what has happened on the field this year.
"It's been a disaster, this season. It's definitely a shock. Certainly, I don't think anybody on our side of the fence, from our player group, from our coaches, our manager, or even outside the organization, would've predicted this," he said.
It has been a disaster. The Yankees are currently 17 games out of first place in the AL East. Their hated rival Boston Red Sox sit five-and-a-half games above them in fourth place.
1990 was the last time that New York finished the season last in their divisional standings.
Injuries to star players like Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo have not helped things, but ranking sixth worst in runs scored, second to last in hits and 23rd in on-base plus slugging percentage is unacceptable for a payroll this high.
On top of that, the starting rotation is 23rd in the MLB with a 4.77 ERA.
Nothing has gone right for the Yankees this season. They're almost certainly out of the playoff race unless something unforeseen takes place.
Admitting the season has been a disaster is the easy part. The hard part will be what Cashman does to fix things to make sure it doesn't happen again.
